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Volunteer, 87, brings pastries, joy to Camden

Frank Brennan makes two deliveries a week to Cathedral Kitchen in Camden--and it's not clear which is more popular: the rich, sugary doughnuts he brings from McMillan's Bakery in Westmont, or Frank himself.

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Volunteer, 87, brings pastries, joy to Camden

Frank Brennan is 87 years old, and twice a week, he brings doughnuts and other pastries from McMillan's Bakery to Cathedral Kitchen in Camden.

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For more than 15 years, Frank Brennan, 87 of Mount Laurel, has been delivering doughnuts and pastries donated by McMillan's Bakery in Westmont to Cathedral Kitchen in Camden.(Photo: Chris LaChall/Staff Photographer)Buy Photo

Frank Brennan and his daughter, Diane Blair, pulled up to the delivery bay at Cathedral Kitchen Wednesday morning. Brennan got out of the car, then hauled plastic bins carrying several dozen doughnuts from the trunk to the loading dock.

When David Archie, a cook at Cathedral Kitchen and the valedictorian of its 2016 culinary class, inquired about a recent health issue, Brennan called back, "You can't kill an Irishman!" and let out a hearty laugh.

Brennan is 87 years old, and twice a week, he brings doughnuts and other pastries donated by McMillan's Bakery to Cathedral Kitchen in Camden.

And it's hard to tell which is loved more: those sugary, rich treats the Westmont bakery is known for, or the man who brings them.

Brennan, who spent 50 years in Haddonfield raising his two daughters with his late wife Amelia, recently moved from his Collingswood home to live with Blair in Mount Laurel.

Though he retired more than a decade ago after owning a sheet metal business, he's hardly sitting around watching the world go by: He meets a group of fellow retirees nearly every day at a local McDonald's; he used to give tours of the Battleship New Jersey in Camden; and in addition to making his twice-weekly doughnut deliveries to Cathedral Kitchen, he also helps out at the food pantry at St. Teresa of Calcutta Parish in Collingswood.

"It's what they do for him," she said, referring to the Kitchen Cathedral volunteers, employees and clients who greet her father each time he visits. "Everyone wants to feel relevant, to feel needed. That's what they do for him."

Cathedral Kitchen serves about 325 people each day at its Federal Street location, but it doesn't stop at feeding them. The nonprofit also trains people for jobs in the culinary and restaurant business, graduating 275 students so far and boasting 80 percent job placement, said development director Noreen Flewelling.

Cathedral Kitchen meals also are delivered to after-school programs and senior citizen centers in Camden. Each meal includes a protein, fruits and vegetables, a starch, beverage and dessert.

And for the last 15 years at least, that dessert often has included the 200 to 250 McMillan's doughnuts Brennan delivers.

Brennan grew up in the city's Fairview neighborhood and his love for the city and its people is clear in the way he gives back and the happy memories he shares, including helping a disabled friend sell Christmas cards and ice cream door-to-door.

"I walk around this place like I own it," Brennan joked. When he arrives at Cathedral Kitchen, he's greeted with hugs, jokes and more than a little playful banter. He eats it up, talking baseball, gently flirting with female employees and volunteers and telling stories about his time in Camden.

"He’s the most charming man," said Karen Talerico, Cathedral Kitchen's executive director. "He reminds me of my father. And he’s as sharp as a tack," remembering details of what the city was like 80 years ago.

The work he does seems to sustain him, making him feel appreciated and giving him a chance to interact with people.

"They make such a fuss over him here," Blair said. "They do so much for him; they make him feel valued."

"It's the best feeling in the world," Brennan said, growing emotional. "To walk into a place and be recognized by the people there, just for being a decent person.

"I can look back and think, I guess I did this one good little thing. What I do is next to nothing compared to what I get from it."